The Adventure of a Lifetime
by StardustnLight
Summary: A lifetime with you? Weeeeell, that's not so bad.
1. Chapter 1

Silence had followed them from Bad Wolf Bay. For the two days it took them to end up at the doorway of her flat, Rose and the Doctor-but-isn't hadn't actually spoken to one another. Not since he had whispered those three words in her ear at least.

That was her first clue that this man wasn't the same one flying through time and space in a blue police box, universes away. Her Doctor, the real Doctor, was incapable of staying quiet for two minutes let alone two days. Granted, he had talked plenty in that time span, to Jackie and even their Zepplin pilot, just not to her. Every time he looked like he was about to say something to her, the woman he supposedly burned up a star for, he'd closed his mouth as quickly as he'd opened it.

Definitely not a trait her Doctor had ever possessed. She had been sure they would have had to talk about his living situation. Would he stay with Jackie and Pete at the Estate, or with Rose at her flat? When the time came to make the decision however, the Doctor had just dutifully followed her out of the cab, seemingly not even considering another option.

So now they stood, Rose hanging her jacket on the coat rack and the Doctor-but-isn't still in the doorway, eyes flitting curiously around the room.

"You gonna stay there all night?" she questioned, miraculously managing a small smile.

He seemed surprised at her voice, glancing around as if to make sure she was speaking to him. It may have been silly, had she not been avoiding him for forty-eight hours.

"Right, yeah, sorry" he finally sniffed, stepping across the threshold. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his bright blue suit, which was in surprisingly good condition considering it was his only article of clothing, and he started rocking back and forth on his heels as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. The other Doctor never seemed out of place.

No. She had to stop this. She had done the same thing when her big-eared, blue-eyed Doctor had regenerated. Then again, this was a slightly different situation. She had to stop thinking so much about this, it was starting to make her head hurt.

"Do you want anything to eat? Not sure how much I have in the fridge but-"

"Rose." She slowly turned to meet the man behind her. It suddenly struck her how young he looked, blue suit and hair mussed in a somewhat unfamiliar way. Not to mention his eyes. They were the same dark brown as before, but these eyes didn't seem to carry the entire weight of the world in them. They seemed lighter. Those familiar –but-not eyes were staring unabashedly into her, and she couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine at the thought that they could see more than just her irises.

"Yes?" She hadn't realize she was holding her breath.

"I-"

Brrrring!

Rose was hit with a mixture of relief and frustration as her phone blared through the otherwise still room. "Hold that thought," she called, rushing into the kitchen a little too quickly, hearing a groan of frustration from the room she just left. That, at least, was a sound her Doctor had made often around her.

"Rose Tyler, who's speaking?"

"Rose! It's your mum, how are you settlin'?" Rose couldn't stop the roll of her eyes at Jackie's voice.

"You just saw us fifteen minutes ago, Mum."

"A lot can happen in fifteen minutes, Tony is proof of tha-"

"MUM!"

"I'm just saying."

"Well you don't need to worry about that anytime soon. We're fine, I think. We're gonna get some take-away, so I need the phone. I'll ring you tomorrow, yeah?"

"But Rose-" Click.

She ran an exasperated hand through her hair, before turning to go back to the Doctor-but-isn't, stopping short when she realized he was standing right behind her. "Give a girl a warning, will ya!" she gasped, clutching her heart dramatically.

A quick grin spread across his face, which made her heart ache, and she had to fight the conflicting urges to cry and laugh at how familiar it was.

"Well where would be the fun in that?" he quirked. They stood grinning at each other for a few moments before the smirk slipped off his face and he became serious again. "Listen, Rose, I-"

"What do you want for take-away?" she asked at the same time. Ignoring his obvious intent to have a talk, she walked over to the draw with all the take-away menus. "Chinese? Italian? There's a great Greek place down the street that delivers." Menus in hand, she turned back towards him to find a disappointed frown on his lips. She knew she was avoiding the inevitable, but she wasn't ready to talk about what happened, especially with him.

Instead of responding to her inquiries, he shrugged and pushed himself off the counter he was perched on, trudging out of the room.

Feeling slightly guilty but relieve she dodged the bullet again, Rose dialed the number for the Chinese place, ordering a bunch of different dishes, unsure of what her guest would prefer.

When she was done, she found him sprawled on the couch in her living room, long legs dangling over one armrest and arms folded under his head, eyes closed. She sat on the ground by his head. The urge to touch him, to make sure he was really there and she hadn't dreamed up the past few days, overwhelmed her, so she let her hand wander to his scalp and started playing with his hair. His eyes slipped open at the contact, and he turned his gaze to meet hers.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, not quite sure what part she was sorry about. Her inability to talk to him, his being stranded in this universe by, virtually, himself, and him being human. She was sorry for all of it, really.

"Don't be." His tone matched hers, and they stayed that way for a while, just staring at each other and her hand moving in his wild hair.

"I meant it, you know."

She didn't need to ask what he was talking about. The sound of his voice saying the words she had waited years to hear from him was still sending erratic shivers down her spine. "I know."

"Did you?"

Now she was confused. "Did I what?"

"Mean it. When you…after I told you."

Ah, the kiss.

"I don't know." She had meant it, every emotion she had poured into it, but for the Doctor. She wasn't convinced he was the same man she kissed. Another thing to be sorry for.

"Okay." She could see the hurt that clouded his eyes and had to avert her own. He turned his gaze to the ceiling.

"Will this ever get easier?" she asked, grasping her knees with her free arm and fighting the urge to cry again. She felt him shift, his hair leaving her reach and she had a moment of panic that he was leaving her, again. But, when she turned to look at him, she found him propped on his elbow staring intently at her.

"Yes." The certainty in his voice stunned her. They once again fell into silence, staring at each other. This time, however, the air was much more heated. She finally became aware of reaching for him, cupping his face and stroking his sideburns softly.

They were going to kiss again. Rose was sure of it the moment her hand made contact with his skin and the realization frightened and excited her. This wasn't like the other one though. That had been frenzied, desperate and needing. This time, she was leaning painstakingly slowly towards him. He remained perfectly still, only following her with his eyes, as if he was scared that if he moved she would run away. It may not have been a wholly unfounded fear.

She was finally close enough that she could feel his staggered breath on her lips, when the buzzer rang.

They both froze, until it persistently rang again.

"I should go get that," as she spoke her lips ghosted over his due to how close they were. She heard him gulp and felt him pull away, both of their eyes fluttering open. She jogged over to the buzzer and rang the delivery man in. That had been a close call. She wasn't sure she had been entirely ready for that.


	2. Chapter 2

To say the Doctor was frustrated would be a tragic understatement. He was embittered by the fact that he had left himself on a foreign universe with nothing but the clothes on his back. He was irked that despite the gob he knew he had he couldn't seem to hold a conversation with the woman he loved. He was aggravated at how his new human body reacted to _everything_, sleep, food and Rose included. Most of all, he was extremely irritated at how irritated he was, when he got to live his life with _Rose Tyler_.

As thrilled as he was that he was sitting across the table from her, eating Chinese take-away like he hadn't eaten in months, the silence reminded him that she wasn't as thrilled as he was, which significantly lessened how thrilled he was. She hadn't wanted _him_, she wanted the Time Lord who had dumped him on her, to _fix_, like some broken childhood toy. Is that all he was going to be? A toy for her to occupy herself with until the Time-Lord him could figure out a way to get Rose back and dispose of him in the process?

No, Rose wouldn't use him, he knew, and the other him wouldn't risk the universes' safety for his own happiness. He knew that from experience. Weeeell, not his own experience per say, more the experiences he remembers but really belong to Time-Lord him. Wizard. That's gonna get confusing, even for him.

"So how long was it…on your end?" Rose's voice drags him from his thoughts and he looks up from his plate to see a curious expression on her face. He was once again a little surprised she spoke to him and it took him a moment to realize her question required a response. He vaguely processed he had a bit of Lo Mein hanging from his lips and slurped it up before answering.

"About two and a half years I suppose. Weeeell, three and a half, but one of those years never happened." He was going to leave it at that until he noticed the confused expression on her face. With a sigh he continued, "Martha and I travelled for about a year, when we stopped on the rift in Cardiff to refuel…."

He told her about Yana, really the Master, and the year that never was. How Martha, brilliant Martha, saved him and the world by simply telling a story, about losing the Master, and becoming the only one of his kind…again. Rose had held her questions through his story , and when he looked at her again she seemed at a loss for words. He looked back down at where he had been twirling his fork in the lo mien for ten minutes and was about to change the subject when she spoke up.

"Transformed by hopes and dreams huh?" When his eyes rested on her face again there was a ridiculous grin growing on her lips, which he felt himself mirroring. Soon enough they were both doubled over, laughing, though later neither one could tell you at what. With each snort and guffaw, the tension between them began to dissipate. Not entirely, mind you, just enough so it wasn't as oppressive as before.

When their hysterics finally died down, and only the occasional giggle remained, the Doctor asked "How long has it been here?"

"Four years, just about." Rose answered immediately, the humor leaving her eyes though her smile remained spread on her face. "Took awhile to figure out a way back, what with us 'stupid apes' and our lack of technology." She added with a short laugh through her nose though the Doctor noted no mirth in the action.

"How did you even manage to cross dimensions?"

His question seemed to confuse her. "I told you already."

He shook his head. "Must've been the other me, after he shot the regeneration energy into the hand." He wiggled his fingers affectionately for good measure. "After that, next thing I remember is waking up naked in from of Donna while the Tardis was being destroyed..Interesting, that, flying the Tardis naked. Wouldn't recommend it, too many pointy things, but interesting for one go," He hoped she didn't notice the tremor in his voice as he mentioned Donna or the Tardis.

She didn't, she was still a bit hung up on the whole 'flying the Tardis naked' thing. "You flew the Tardis…naked…" Her face became indecipherable, until she visibly shook her head.

He smirked and leaned across the table conspiratorially. "Rose Tyler, are you picturing me naked?"

She sniffed, taking on a disinterested air. "Course not. Anyway, back to what we were talking about-"

"Me being naked you mean."

"No!" She blushed, making his grin wider. "The, uh…the dimension cannon."

His grin turned into a look of confusion. "Dimension what?"

"Cannon. It's how I got across. My Torchwood team had been working on it for a while, but it wasn't until the stars started going out that it started to work. Well, sort of, it took a couple tries to get to the right universe…"

"How many is a couple, Rose?" He asked, concern filtering into his voice.

"Oh….by the time I finally got to you, in that street," her voice tripped over the memory but she continued on, "it had been somewhere around the fortieth time…or forty-eighth."

"You jumped dimensions forty-eight times?!" This time there was no hiding the emotion in his voice; the concern, the awe, and bloody hell, the downright anger that she had put herself in so much danger. "Do you _know_ what that could have done to you?!" he had jumped up from his seat and rushed over to where she sat, rolling up her sleeves, checking her pulse and looking for any signs of damage. He reached for his specs, before realizing with a start that he didn't have them anymore, and continuing on his mission to make sure Rose was okay.

"Oi!" She exclaimed, tearing her arm from his grasp "Somebody had to do it."

"_You_ didn't have to! You could've been killed Rose-"

"Would you have rathered somebody else find you?!" she yelled, angering seeping into her voice as well.

"If it meant you being safe, quite frankly, yes!" the Doctor replied, matching her tone.

"Right cause without me, you wouldn't be stuck here, right?!" Rose now stood angrily, grabbing her plate and storming over to the kitchen with it.

"…what?" the Doctor wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going anymore.

"You'd never have been hit by that Dalek, and wouldn't have split in two. You'd be off in the Tardis, on your merry way, always running, am I right?" she continued her heated rant, throwing her plate into the sink and roughly turning on the water and scrubbing.

"What?! Rose, that's not what I-"

"No Rose Tyler, no human Doctor. No being stuck on a parallel world, no being _trapped_," she emphasized the word by slamming her hands on the sink, "in a stupid flat with a stupid girl eating stupid take away!"

"….is that how you feel?" he asked quietly. She turned her fiery eyes, laced in tears to glare at him.

"Isn't that how you feel?"

"You_ know_ how I feel, Rose. I lo-"

"Don't." She said abruptly stopping him. "Not…not now."

He closed his mouth and looked away, determined not to let her see the hurt he was sure was evident on his face.

"I'm…I'm going to bed. Guest room is down the hall, second on the right." She said quietly, the anger gone from her voice, replaced with weariness. She stood there for a very long moment, hands gripping the sink, head down and eyes squeezed shut, until she pushed herself away and trudged down the hall. She didn't slam the door, but the quiet squeak of the hinges as she gently shut it, pained the Doctor as much as if she had shut it in his face.

He stood in the kitchen for what felt like an eternity, though it was really only two minutes and sixteen seconds. The realization that his sense of time was still intact was a small comfort to him and he gathered all the leftover food and stored it in the fridge, before grabbing his own plate and cleaning it, albeit a bit gentler than Rose had hers.

When he was done, he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. Well, that was new, he _always_ knew what to do with himself. He'd always at least have some work to do on the Tardis, that now wasn't an option. Yes he did have that bit or coral the other him gave him, but no matter what formula Donna gave him, it would never be ready in his lifetime. Probably not even in his great-grandchildren's lifetime. Not that he expected to have great-grandchildren, or children, especially after what had just happened.

With a weary and frustrated sigh, the Doctor decided that sleep sounded pretty good right about now.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose was faced with the same problem she had been plagued with for four years. She couldn't sleep. She had never quite gotten used to the absence of the hum of the Tardis, lulling her to sleep, though if she were completely honest with herself that wasn't the sole cause of her insomnia.

With a sigh she flipped over, staring forlornly at the red numbers blaring from her bedside table, reading 12:24 am. She flipped over again with a huff. The anger she felt from earlier had basically left her system. She knew she had been irrational, she had known she was being irrational while she was still screaming at the Doctor-but-isn't.

She did fear that those were his feelings, but mostly because she was feeling something similar. She was so _angry_ at the other Doctor, for leaving her after she risked so much to be with him again, for thinking that because he gave her a copy of himself, that she could be happy. She only felt guilty, because she didn't think she could be happy, even after the Doctor had supposedly sacrificed so much for her. She still felt he had been extremely selfish. He was ashamed of the human version of himself, so he left her to watch after him while he kept running, running from what he felt, running from his guilt, running from _her_, but most importantly running from _himself_.

Ok, maybe the anger hadn't totally left her system. At least it wasn't directed to the man sleeping across the hall from her.

With another huff, Rose pushed herself into a sitting position and stared at the door to the hallway. She needed to apologize to him. She was apparently going to be living with him for a while, if not forever but that was a whole other issue she didn't have the attentiveness to worry about right now, so they should probably be on speaking terms.

Besides, it may be selfish, but as much as it pained her to be reminded of the Doctor, she couldn't just forget him. She just wanted those familiar arms to hold her again, so she could momentarily forget her conflicting emotions.

She slowly crept over and pushed her door open, tiptoeing the short distance to the human-Doctor's door. She raised her hand to knock, thought better of it, and slowly pushed open the door.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she made out a lump on the bed, slowly rising in time with the deep breaths she heard it issuing. When she snuck closer, she noticed with a start that his eyes were open, and fixed on her.

"S-Sorry, did I wake you?" She whispered, though she didn't know why since there wasn't anyone she should be afraid of waking.

"Couldn't sleep. Don't really need much sleep, even with this body." He gave her a small smile that wasn't reflected in his eyes, as he propped himself on his elbow.

"Me either. I mean, I still need sleep, I just…couldn't" she finished lamely. She bit her lip and looked at her feet, twiddling her thumbs anxiously. "I just…I wanted to apologize…It wasn't fair of me to do that to you." She looked back up at him to see him thrown back the duvet and motion for her to join him. If it was any other guy, it would probably have seemed like a come-on. 'Come, join me in my bed so we can _talk_ and whatnot'.

But if Rose knew the Doctor, human copy or not, he would never in 900 years, in any universe, hit on her. It was something she viewed as rather unfortunate most of the time, though now she was happy to just crawl into bed with him and let him wrap his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.

"This is going to take a lot of work. But we can do it." He mumbled into her hair after a while.

"We still have a lot to talk about."

"As long as it's not a lot to yell about. You were starting to resemble your mother in there." She could feel the grin on his face before she slapped his chest. "Oi!"

"You deserved it! I guess you're just as rude as ever."

"Yes, ooh! But! Rose. This is very important, life changing news. I. Am. Ginger."

"What?" She scrunched her face up in confusion, and looked up at his manic grin.

"I found come ginger hair when I was combing! Some of Donna's DNA must've had some dominant phenotypes!"

Rose just shook her head and laughed, closing her eyes and relaxing against him, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over her. Maybe, tonight, she'd be able to get a proper night's sleep.

* * *

Waking up next to the Doctor, well, sort of, was an interesting experience; one Rose never thought she'd have.

The first strange thing she noticed was the weight slung over her waist. That was a sensation she had not woken up to in years. Then, realizing she wasn't in her bed, alone, like she normally was, she quite literally jumped awake, knocking the top of her head quite painfully against the sort-of-Doctor's chin.

"OI!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried, rubbing her head and reaching over to the human Doctor's chin, which he was rubbing groggily.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine. " He quipped, still gripping his chin with a quiver of pain.

Rose's hand froze halfway to his face. "Sunshine?"

"Oh brilliant, still talking like Donna, am I?" He smiled jokingly, as best he could whilst rubbing his jaw in pain, but she noticed the difficulty it took to say Donna's name. She knew he would talk about it, when he was ready, if he was ever ready, so she didn't push it for now.

"Well, nice way to start the day, eh?" Rose countered with what she hoped was a reassuring grin. "I'll make breakfast, going to need the energy for everything we have to do today." She rolled out of the bed with a little more pep than was necessarily called for, and started to self-consciously flatten down her hair.

"What do you mean _'everything we have to do'_?" he asked her wearily, sitting up and stifling a yawn. That was also new, Rose was pretty sure she had never seen the Doctor sleep, let alone _yawn_.

"Well, first of all, you need some more clothes."

The human Doctor looked down at his maroon shirt and blue trousers that he'd slept in, coat slung on the bed post. "Why? What's wrong with blue?"

Rose smirked. "Nothing, I actually like the new suit. _But_ you're gonna need other options, you need to wash your clothes sometime."

"Never had to before."

"That's because the Tardis did it for you…right? That's what I'd always assumed." She felt herself struggle over the mention of the Tardis. It was going to take some getting used to, making conversation while avoiding the once-normal but now painful topics.

"Weeell, yeah, but for times when we were away from her, I used the ol' sonic screwdriver. Get's the dirt and bacteria right out." He replied with a manic grin.

"Hate to point out the obvious but…don't you…I mean, doesn't _he_, the other you, have it?"

To her surprise, his grin didn't falter. "Oh, Rose Tyler, haven't I ever told you to never underestimate me?" With that he quickly sprung to his feet and stuck his arm deeper than should be possible into his pockets. He stuck his tongue out in concentration, before quickly regaining his grin, producing his treasure with a flourish in front of her.

"You….you stole the sonic screwdriver?"

"Oi! I can't steal it if it's mine, now can I?"

"But...but..." She stammered, staring at the metal stick in awe. Then, before she knew it, she felt a smile to match his spread across her face "He's gonna be sooo mad when he finds out." she said, unable to suppress the delightful giggle at the idea.

The other Doctor merely shrugged, though the smirk didn't leave his lips. "He can always make another one, he's got the materials just _lying_ about. I don't, I'd say it's pretty fair."

When her onslaught of giggles subsided, Roses just shook her head. "Well, sonic screwdriver or no, you're still gonna need more clothes if you're going to even remotely fit in. Then after that, we'll have to talk to Dad about setting you up a new identity, thought of any names yet? You still going by John Smith?"

The human Doctor's face fell into contemplation. "John Smith is what I use when I'm pretending to be someone else. I don't want to pretend when it's my only life, with you." Though he said this in a distracted manner, Rose was slightly side swept by his words.

"So…no Dr. John Smith then?"

"I'm thinking of resurrecting James McCrimmon."

"Weren't you pretending to be someone else that time too?"

"What? Oh, yes, that. Weeellll, this time I'd be honoring an old friend." She was going to press him further but he had already swung on his jacket and bounded out the door, muttering something about bacon. Blinking in bewilderment, she followed him to the kitchen where he was already foraging through her cupboards for who knows what.

"Rose, when is the last time you bought groceries? Your cupboards and fridge are horrendously empty."

"Well I wasn't exactly expecting to come back here, so not much need for groceries."

He chanced a sideways, pitying glance at her, opening his mouth to speak before she cut him off, not wanting to dwell on her numerous issues at the moment, "But we may as well add it to our list of things to do today."

The Doctor groaned, muttering something about 'domestic' and went about grabbing some cereal and bowls from the cupboards. Rose couldn't help but grin as he measured the milk out into each bowl with scientific precision. She missed this. She went to work cleaning up the objects he discarded. It was amazing how they were able to fall into their old rhythm once again. For a moment Rose could almost picture the Tardis kitchen, where they had frequently gone through this same routine.

When he finished, the sort-of-Doctor slid a bowl over to Rose, picking up his own and hopping up on the counter in one swift move, promptly digging in to his breakfast. Smiling to herself, Rose leaned against the counter; leave it to the Doctor, or his clone for that matter, to still find no use for sitting at a table.

There were so many things she wanted, no needed to say. She wanted to yell and scream at him, but at the same time just laugh and make everything normal again. Well, normal was a relative term when it came to the Doctor.

"You're staring at me, Rose." Surprised, Rose realized he was right.

"Oh! Um…sorry bout that, was zoning out is all."

"Sure it's not because of how sexy I am?" He replied with a wink. His 'seduction' however was hindered by the severe milk mustache that adorned his face. Her hysteric giggling that this caused turned his smirk into an indignant pout, which only made her laugh harder.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and popped off the counter.

"S-sorry." She managed through her giggling, still keeping her eyes trained on his skinny frame as he once again rummaged through her cupboards. "What are you looking for now?"

"Honestly Rose, have you NO food?" He said in way of answer, half-hazardly tossing various snacks over his shoulder, causing her to roll her eyes, set down her breakfast and pick up after him. A satisfied hum made her look over at him again. He had resumed his seat on her counter, this time with a banana in hand. She didn't even remember buying bananas recently.

She could only stare as he unpeeled his treasure and took a happy bite of the fruit. "Potassium, Rose, excellent source of potassium. You know, on the planet Yarg, they have purple bananas. _Purple_, Rose. I wonder if there's a Yarg in this universe. We should find out. Even though they're purple, they're till brilliant fruit…" His rant fizzled off as he stared at her. She didn't notice, she was still transfixed on the fruit in his hand.

Something inside her clicked. This wasn't the sort-of-Doctor, a cheap impression, or anything of the like. This was the Doctor, in some form. Her Doctor. The same one with big ears and blue eyes. The same one with a toothy grin and a bit of a rude streak both of which he still possessed). All of a sudden, it was just like back on the Tardis after platform one. Run. He was the same person who told her to run all those years ago. He was different, but the same in all the ways that mattered. Two hearts or one, new catchphrases, hell even a new wardrobe, in the long run, none of that mattered anymore.

With a determined air, she marched up to him, grabbed his hands in hers and smiled. "Rose?"

She still had a lot to sort out with him, and in herself. But suddenly, it didn't seem like such a daunting task. Beaming up at him she replied "Yes, Doctor?"

A slow grin spread across his face until his beam matched her own. "You called me Doctor."


	4. Chapter 4

"Rose, really, this is completely unnecessary." The Doctor complained as the aforementioned blonde plopped another pair of trousers on the already growing pile in his arms.

"Hush up and take it like a man." She countered as she admired a shirt. "I told you, that one suit is not going to last you."

The Doctor crinkled his nose as Rose went to put the dress shirt on the pile.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just, I think I'm over the whole dress shirt and tie thing."

Rose raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"Yeah. I'm a t-shirt kinda guy now. You know, keeping up with the times, being hip and what not. Did I really just say hip?"

Rose shook her head in amusement and put back the shirt, picking up a simple t-shirt in its place, though she couldn't deny the small pang she felt as she put back the dress shirt. "Now go try some of that on." She shoved him into the dressing room, causing an indignant snort, and went to browse some more accessories.

"Well? What do you think?"

Rose looked up from what she was perusing and had to do a double take. The Doctor was fiddling with the cuffs of the corduroy jacket he was wearing, over a plain white t-shirt pair of jeans. He actually looked like he fit in, like he was normal, though Rose knew he was far from it. Though she would miss seeing him in a suit every day, she couldn't deny that he looked….well, _good _would be an understatement.

"Rose?"

She shook herself from her daze and smiled, glad he couldn't read her mind "Nice, it looks…nice," she could only hope he didn't hear the crack in her voice, "Missing one think though."

The Doctor frowned and looked down at his outfit, "Really? What?"

She smirked and placed a pair of glasses on him that she had been looking at while he changed. "There, all better."

A toothy grin spread across his face. "Brainy specs!" He exclaimed, his voice doing that squeaky thing it did when he was excited, Rose couldn't help but grin.

"Go on, then, you got more to try on and we still have to go see Pete."

* * *

Shopping bags in hand, the Doctor and arrived at the Torchwood base. The Doctor paused, gazing up at this universe's version of Canary Warf and grimacing. Rose noticed his hesitation, set her bags on the ground and gently touched his arm. After a long moment he turned his gaze on her, earning him a small smile of encouragement.

"It's not the same Torchwood you know. We have people that know what they're doing in charge. You may actually like it."

To Rose's disappointment, the slight frown didn't disappear from his face. "I don't think so. After what they did…what happened…I don't know if I'll ever _like_ any Torchwood operation." Instead of arguing in the open London streets, Rose merely nodded, determined to change his mind later, and tugged him into the building.

Rose flashed her ID to a few people, who, the Doctor noticed with some surprised, seemed to treat Rose with the respect that follows those in power. Soon enough, after a rather cramped elevator ride and a few surprised 'welcome backs' directed at Rose, they were in Pete's office.

"Hello…Doctor?" Pete grinned, uneasily glancing between his daughter and the man living with her. The Doctor warmly accepted his extended hand, grinning widely while ignoring the fact that Pete was obviously filled in by Jackie as to his genetic situation.

"Pete! Always a pleasure. Really have a nice setup here, nice desk, cushy chair, what more could a man ask for?" Pete warily returned his grin, with the air of a man who has finally accepted that some things, especially when involving the Doctor, were just plain bizarre.

"Quite right too. Now, down to business." With that Pete took a seat in the aforementioned cushioned chair behind his desk, and motioned for Rose and the Doctor to follow suit. "Now…we need to make you exist, Doctor. It was a lot easier go with Rose and Jackie, since Jackie already existed here and Rose could be explained as given up for adoption when she was young, DNA can easily be tested. But you are a different story." At this Pete leaned forward in his chair and started sorting through papers on his desk. "We need to create you from scratch. Now, for a name-"

"James McCrimmon." The Doctor interjected. Pete glanced up from the papers in his hand.

"McCrimmon, eh? Guess we'll say you're parents are from the USS." At this the Doctor scrunched up his nose. "The what?"

"The USS, you know, United States of Scotland."

"Blimey this universe is wizard."

Pete chose to ignore his obvious confusion and continued on, speaking of birth certificates, credit cards, licenses. All the paperwork was making the Doctor's head spin. Humans just had to have every little thing documented.

"Now, Doctor…or should I say James-"

"Still the Doctor if you please, no harm in keeping my name around people who know me."

"Right, well, Doctor, have you given thought to employment? Torchwood and Vitex always have spots open for the man who saved my family."

The Doctor reclined in his chair, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. He glanced over at Rose, who was giving him a somewhat pleading look. He knew she wanted him working with her at Torchwood, but he still couldn't put aside his reservations about the company, Pete Tyler running it or no. "Can I get back to you on that Pete? Haven't really given it that much thought as of yet."

"Right, unemployed it is." Pete missed the indignant look the Doctor shot him as he scribbled the information down. "Well, Doctor, I'll have my team get right to work on these, I'll get the paperwork to you tomorrow. Just...try to lay low until then. We don't want any coppers wondering why you don't exist on any databases yet."

"Aw, Pete, you know me, I always stay out of trouble," Pete's unamused stare did nothing to hinder the wide grin and wink shot his way from the alien…human?...man in front of him.

"Thanks dad" Rose interceded, rising out of her seat. "Tell mum we'll be around for dinner, yeah? She's been on to come round."

Pete's stoic expression melted when he glanced at his daughter. Well, that had changed since Bad Wolf Bay, the Doctor observed. "Sure, Rose, Tony'll be pleased." The grin that spread across Rose's face at the mention of her brother made the Doctor's heart leap. Then, after some handshaking and hugging, on Rose and Pete's parts, they departed the parallel Canary Warf.

* * *

"Why didn't you take the job at Torchwood? Dad went through a lot of trouble to even get a position open that would fit your….skills." Rose finally questioned, placing some fruit into the shopping cart in front of her.

"You _know_ why I didn't Rose." Was all she got as response, while the Doctor removed the pears from the cart and, with of look of sheer disgust at touching the fruit, placed them back on the shelves.

"I told you, it's not the same Torchwood."

"I'm a stubborn old man, Rose; give me some time to change my opinions, yeah?" With a resigned sigh, she pushed the cart forward, letting him toss in a few extra bananas.

"Alright, but promise me you'll really think about it."

He glanced over at her hopeful face and shook his head. "Fine, fine, I will." At his words a smile flitted across her features and the Doctor found his heart skipping a beat again. Funny, that. Although he had always cared deeply for Rose, he could not quite recall that particular reaction ever occurring in him before. Either it was a human thing or he had a heart condition. She must have noticed his inner turmoil because he soon registered her asking "Are you ok, Doctor?"

He couldn't suppress the small grin that surged across his face when she called him by his name. "What? Oh, it's nothing really, just getting used to this human thing." He didn't miss the flicker of pain that slipped over her face before she masked it with a reassuring smile. She reached out and laced their fingers together with a familiarity that once again had his heart stopping and starting. This could grow to be a problem. He was pretty sure this much irregularity in his heart rate could not be healthy.

"I know you'll get the hang of it, you always do." Rose squeezed his hand once then let her fingers slip away as she examined the contents of their cart. The Doctor couldn't help but notice how empty his hand felt.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry for the ridiculous waits in between! Senior year is killing me, BUT I'm graduating soon so I'll have more time :)

This was mostly just filler stuff to give you guys an update, we'll get back to the meat of the story soon, promis haha I just want to thank you all for your reviews, it means a lot that you take the time to comment :)


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor was bored. He had never, in his life, ever been bored. He always had something to do, someone to talk to, somewhere to travel. But now? He was stuck alone in Rose's flat while she was at Torchwood. She had left without waking him, leaving a note on the fridge to inform him that she would be back around 4. He still had 5 hours, 7 minutes and 53 seconds until then.

And he was bored.

The notion startled him to be sure. He didn't like the feeling nor did he want to become one of those humans who sat around all day watching the Telly, working in a cubicle, and repeating. The thought literally disgusted him. So, against all hope, he marched to his closet and dug around in his blue coat until he found what he was looking for; the Tardis coral.

He refused to set himself up for disappointment by making "growing the Tardis" a fulltime project. No, he would just view it as...a hobby. He could work on the Tardis in his spare time, when he wasn't adjusting to being human or trying to win Rose's favor all over again.

Rose.

He wouldn't tell her, not just yet. The way he saw it, if everything worked out it would be a wonderful surprise, and if he failed miserably, she wouldn't have the chance to be disappointed, again. Yes, so for now, she would be kept unaware.

He placed the coral on the ground, pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and went at it.

* * *

"Doctor?" Rose called, closing the door with her foot and placing her keys on the country. There was no response. In a moment of panic, Rose called his name again. Again there was no reply. She plopped down her bag and jogged down the hall to his bedroom, half expecting it to be empty and having to deal with the fact that he left her again. But when she threw open the door, he was gently closing his closet.

"You're here." She breathed, relief fully evident in her voice.

"Where else would I be?" The Doctor replied, his face scrunching up in confusion.

"I…I don't know. You didn't answer and I thought-"

"You thought I left you." It wasn't a question. She didn't answer. "Rose, I'm not going to do that to you." She wasn't so sure.

He must have sensed her doubt because he stepped toward her cautiously, like someone approaching a scared animal that might bolt at the slightest moment. When he finally reached her he pulled her into a hug. Rose checked her memory banks and realized this was the first time since Bad Wolf Bay that they had fully embraced. It took her a moment, but soon enough she was nearly squeezing the life out of the skinny alien/man, taking deep breathes of his familiar scent and trying hard not to cry. One of his hands gently cradled her head into his shoulder, and the other arm wrapped around her shoulders. The Doctor laid his chin on top of her head, as Rose inhaled steadily, calming the shake of her shoulders.

It seemed like they stood there like that for eternity, though Rose knew the Doctor's sense of time would say otherwise, until Rose finally pulled away. The Doctor reluctantly let go, looking down at her with an encouraging grin.

"I want to show you something." Rose finally said, noting proudly there was no tremble in her voice. "Grab your coat." And with that, she strode out of the room, leaving the Doctor to wonder what exactly had just transpired.

* * *

Soon enough the Doctor found himself in the passenger seat of Rose's car, fiddling with the radio. Apparently, the music in this universe was not much better than the present day music in the other universe. "Ahh! The House Martins! I love the House Martins, I saw their concert you know, best concert of my life. We should take advantage of the fact that they're still together in this universe. Have you ever been to a House Martins' concert, Rose? Oh, you'll love it."

Rose just smiled in way of response, and turned off the road onto a narrow dirt path. "I come here all the time," Rose explained, "to think." The Doctor didn't say anything in reply, he was studying her face. Rose shifted under his gaze, once again getting the feeling that he could see right into her.

The road ended and Rose pulled on to a patch of grass at the bottom of a hill. "Come on," she said, rather unnecessarily, as she climbed out of the car. She reached over to the Doctor, and wiggled her fingers in the way she had seen him do so many times. He grinned and grabbed her hand, allowing her to lead him up the hill to a small tree. Letting go, Rose reached up to one of the branches and pulled out a blanket, then threw it onto the ground before them.

"You keep a blanket up here?"

Rose grinned, "For those times when I don't expect to end up here."

"When would coming here be a surprise? You have to make an effort to get in the car and come down that, frankly rather disconcerting, dirt path."

"Shut up and sit down." Rose grinned and plopped down, motioning for the Doctor to do the same. His long, gangly legs stretched past the reach of the blanket, but he didn't seem to take notice as he sidled up next to her. After a moment's hesitation, Rose leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I would come up here nearly every night after…..well, after." The sky was just being drained of the last traces of sunlight, and the brightest stars were already visible. "Back home…in the other universe…before we started travelling I used to just look at the stars, and wonder. Then, it was like I _knew_ what was out there so I didn't bother to _look_. But here…everything's new again. At first that just made me upset but…but now I just want to explore it all over again."

The Doctor started to say something, but Rose wouldn't let him. "I know it's not possible. You said it yourself; the Tardis won't be ready in our lifetime. But, I don't know, it just gives me this sense of hope I guess. This is one of the few places the Zepplins don't get in the way."

The Doctor realized now would be a perfect time to tell her about the Tardis in the works, but he didn't. He had to wait.

He looked up at the clear night sky, now much darker which allowed the stars to become more defined. He could locate quite a few familiar stars in the darkening sky, but he saw even more strange, new ones. It had been such a long time since the night sky looked so unfamiliar to him, and it both excited and frightened him.

"Hey."

Her voice dragged him out of his trance. He looked down at her and found her smiling in his direction. "I know the feeling." She said simply, nudging his shoulder playfully, though he could see the sympathy sketched across her features.

"I'm sorry."

Her smile turned into a frown of confusion. "For what?"

"For leaving you. If I had seen any way to get you back I would have-"

"I know." She turned her face away from him, her shoulders slumping.

"No, Rose, you don't. If I, or the other me, however you want to look at it, had any other choice-"

"Then why did you…he…whoever leave me again?" She turned her gaze to him again and he could clearly see the hurt in her eyes.

"He didn't think there was another way."

"Bullshit!" She stood up quicker than the Doctor could react, and she glared down accusingly at him. "Ever since I met you, all you do is run! You can face down a fleet of hostile aliens but you can't face yourself."

He recoiled as if she had actually hit him. The second the words left her mouth, Rose regretted them. It seemed like every time they made an ounce of progress she threw them ten steps backwards.

"You're right."

Rose's head snapped up. "I am?"

The Doctor pushed himself up and dusted off his jeans. She still wasn't used to seeing him in normal clothing. "Yes, Rose Tyler, you're right, I was wrong, wow never thought I'd hear myself say that." He ventured a slight grin that wasn't quite convincing.

"Listen, Rose, when you were trapped…I…well I wasn't very proud of who I became. Donna…she reminded me that I needed someone around to ground me, a fact that I've never really liked. But it was always more than that with you. You came on board right after the Time War; you helped me see the wonder in the universe again. I needed that. But after you were gone…well I nearly killed myself and Donna, along with the alien threat. I was ready to die."

"Doctor, I-"

"Let me finish. So I took Martha on, she fancied me you know. But once she realized I wasn't about to get over you anytime soon, she left. Then Donna…she became my best mate. But no one came close to making me feel what you did. I didn't know if you were ok, living a happy life, and not knowing, worrying, _wishing_ was turning me into someone that I don't want to be, that I c_an't_ be. I can promise you when I…he left, it was the hardest thing he has ever had to do. In a way, it was selfish, by giving you me, he was giving you himself. I get to live the life he…I…we always wanted to with you, without the complications of having to lose you again when you grow old. But now he can also help the universe knowing that you're ok, that he, or me, however you want to look at it, is giving you the life you deserve. It's all I want to do Rose. I love you. We both do."

The Doctor took a deep breath. During his entire speech he had been staring up at the sky. Apparently being human came with an inherent shyness that made no sense since he could not recall a time Donna had ever been shy. He stood there in silence, waiting for a response, and when he got none he finally ventured a glance at Rose.

She was looking at him with an expression he couldn't quite decipher. He was pondering taking it all back when she marched up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry…I didn't know." She whispered. She started to pull away, but stopped when she got far enough away to look him in the eyes. She seemed like she was contemplating something. He was about to speak up when he suddenly felt the wonderfully new sensation of her lips against his.

It once again took him a moment to respond, it seemed like every time she kissed him it was a surprise. Granted one of those times it was Cassandra but-

No, Doctor, focus.

This kiss was much different than the one (technically two) before. He would not later feel like his mouth was going to bruise from the pressure, though that had never been an unpleasant feeling. This time, it was almost as if she were afraid to kiss him too hard, like he would break if she did. The Doctor finally regained control of himself and let his hands drop to her waist, kissing her back slightly more eagerly, doing all he could not to snog her senseless. He made a mental note to tell her his feeling more often since it seemed to result in her lips on his.

Before he knew it, the Doctor was moving his hands to her scalp and steadily leaning more into her kiss. Just as he as getting carried away, he felt her pulling away. He stood there for a moment too long, lips still puckered and hands in mid air before he finally opened his eyes. He didn't know what he was expecting to see; maybe something along the lines of Rose grinning wildly up at him and proclaiming her love. That would have been ideal.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I was quite ready for that." And that was why the Doctor did not think in ideals. Instead of that winning smile a small frown played on her lips, and her eyes were slightly damp. That was definitely not the reaction he had been looking for.

"Come on, let's go home." The Doctor didn't even try to mask the disappointment in his voice.

* * *

The ride back to the flat was deafeningly silent. The Doctor spent the entire time sulking and staring out the window. Rose hardly noticed between trying to focus on the road and figuring out what exactly had just transpired.

She finally decided that hearing the Doctor's voice saying he loves her triggers some automatic, Pavlovian response in her system that makes her snog him senseless. She dared a glance over at his slumped form and sighed. She knew it was too early for this.

Shaking her head she pulled into the drive and shut off the car. They both climbed wordlessly out of the car. He still said nothing as they walked up to the door to the flat and she fumbled for her keys. She decided that this silent streak was not a new trait that she was a fan of.

She finally opened the door and was about to break the silence when someone did it for her.

"ROSE! YOU CAME BACK!" Before she knew it, Rose was being swept up into a bone crushing hug and being twirled around in the air. Before she could get her feet situated on the ground, she felt another pair of lips grazing hers briefly. "I didn't think I was going to see you again! Oh…you have company." Rose was finally able to regain enough of her senses to make the proper formalities.

"Doctor…you remember Jake?"

* * *

**A/N: **How is THAT for a speedy update, eh? Eh?

So...yeah...bit of a cliffhanger? I'm dabbling in suspense XD Please forgive any typos, I have yet to find a beta and really just wanted to post this tonight.

Reviews always brighten my day when I check my email during AP History :)


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